The Guy Who Plays Ball
by gafreak
Summary: This is part 2 to my other story "A Weekend with Dad." It picks up a week after where that story left off and follows Addison and Ella's move to Seattle, as well as Addison's growing relationship with Alex.
1. Chapter 1

**If you haven't already my story "A Weekend with Dad," I'd suggest reading that first so this one makes a little more sense. As always, reviews are much loved.**

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><p>A week after Addison left Ella in Seattle with Mark, they were on a plane back to Los Angeles. Mark had flown between Seattle and LA numerous times over the past five years, but never with Ella. He was pleasantly surprised at how well behaved she was in the airport and on the plane. When the plane touched down, Mark turned his cell phone back on to send Addison a text stating they had landed so she could meet them near the security checkpoint.<p>

Ella was happy to see her mother again, but didn't want Mark to leave again. After prying Ella out of Mark's arms so he would be able to make his return flight, Ella asked Addison, "When do I get to see Daddy again? I miss him already."

"I know you do, sweetie. You're going to see him again in a few weeks," said Addison.

This confused Ella. Addison usually told her about going to Seattle of Mark's visits to LA months in advance as a way to keep her spirits up about being away from Mark for so long. "Is Daddy coming here or am I going there again?"

Addison waited to answer that question since she was waiting for Ella's suitcase to pop up on the baggage carousel. "How do you feel about changing schools to one in Seattle?"

"But I'll miss you if I live with Daddy? Don't you love me? Why don't you want me to live with you anymore?" were just a few of the questions Ella fired off while they walked toward the parking structure.

"Ella, sweetie, I love you bunches. You're still going to live with me. I'm going to work at the hospital with Daddy and Lexie and everyone else. We're moving back to Seattle," shared Addison.

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><p>Ella was quiet the rest of the drive to the beach house. Addison didn't pressure her into talking about how she was feeling about moving. She knew that Ella would talk when she was ready; the child's world had just been turned upside down. When they arrived at the house, Ella wasted no time running into the house and up to her room, slamming the door behind her.<p>

Amelia saw the red head blast through the house and went outside to see if Addison needed help with anything. "I take it she doesn't like the idea of moving?"

Sighing, Addison ran a hand through her hair. "I thought she would be excited about moving to Seattle because it means more time with Mark."

"I know what it's like to have everything you've ever known change completely. I was a year younger than her when my father was killed. Moving isn't as traumatic as that, but LA is all she's ever know. Seattle's been a fun escape for her, it's never been home. When exactly do you have to be in Seattle? Maybe I can go with you to make it a little easier for her. I won't stay, but I can go for a week or two and help you get everything settled. Maybe Derek will say more than two words to me if he isn't my sole purpose to be there. Besides, it's been awhile since I went anywhere. I'll take her stuff up and maybe she'll talk to me."

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><p>After not getting a response when she knocked on the door, Amelia quietly and slowly opened it to find Ella laying face down on her bed, clutching her favorite stuffed lion. "Go away, mom."<p>

Amelia sat on the bed next to her and began rubbing circles on the girl's back. "It's not your mom, it's me. How was Seattle? How's your dad and Uncle Derek and everyone?"

Slowly, Ella sat up and looked at her aunt. "I don't want to move. I'm going to miss you and everyone here too much. Did you know it rains a lot in Seattle? I like the sun, I don't want to be where it rains a lot."

Amelia wrapped her arm around the child. "I'll miss you too. The rain isn't so bad. I grew up in New York. It snows a lot there; I'd rather live where it rains all the time than deal with a ton of snow every year. I mean, it still snows there, but not as much as where I grew up. Besides, didn't you want to spend more time with your dad and Sofia?"

"Yeah. I miss them when I'm here."

"Your mom could stay here, but she decided to move back up there so you can spend more time with them. It won't be a big deal to spend the weekend with your dad. You'll get to see him on your birthday; you might even get to see him every day. Your mom already told everyone at work that she's moving to Seattle. She got a job at the hospital there. If you don't move, she'd be lying to a lot of people who are already making plans for you two to move," pointed out Amelia.

Ella was obviously thinking about what Amelia had just told her. "Lying is bad. Mommy always tells me not to lie. Will I still get to see you when we move?"

"Yep. I'm going with you for the first week or two to help you unpack everything. I also want to see your dad and Uncle Derek again. It's been a long time since I've seen them. Do you think we should go talk to your mom about all of this? She knew you would be upset when you found out about moving, but I'm sure she's still worried about you," Amelia suggested as she hugged Ella.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sorry this chapter is so short. I didn't want the first chapter to be super long and it doesn't really fit with the next chapter. I've got several chapters already written for this, so updates shoudl be fairly frequent.**

"I told her, Mark. She hasn't said anything to me since we left the airport, Amelia is trying to talk to her about it right now. Call me when you land, maybe you can talk to her about it and let her know that it's a good thing because she'll get to see you more," was the voicemail Addison left for Mark as she heard footsteps behind her.

Hiding behind Amelia, Ella quietly spoke, "I'm sorry I got mad at you, Mommy." Amelia stepped aside to prevent her from hiding any longer.

Addison knelt next to her daughter and pulled her into a hug. "It's okay, kiddo. I know moving is a scary thing, but you'll have me, and Daddy, and all of your family in Seattle."

"Did you ever move when you were my age?" Ella asked with a quizzical look.

"No. I didn't move until I was eighteen and moving to New York for college. I lived there for almost twenty years before I moved to Seattle and I only stayed there a year until I moved here. I was scared every time I moved and I was old when I moved."

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><p>Mark returned Addison's call in the middle of their dinner, which consisted of pizza. Addison didn't like the idea of pizza for dinner, but she thought it would help cheer Ella up. They were going to be having many easy meals like that for the two weeks until they moved. Addison was still going to be working full time at the practice up until the day before they were to leave Los Angeles, so their nights were going to be filled with packing up the beach house.<p>

Amelia was planning to finally get her own place in LA. She lucked out that Addison had been gracious enough to let her stay, but there was no way she would be able to afford the beach house on her own.

"I'm off tomorrow. I have a couple of appointments to look at apartments and condos, one of them is in the same building as Charlotte and Cooper. If she wants to come with me, Ella can give me a second opinion on the places," suggested Amelia as she smiled at Ella.

"Can I go? Do I have to go to daycare anymore?"

Addison took a minute to answer the question. Amelia had already talked to her about Ella looking at places with her, but she wanted to make Ella think she was really thinking about it. "I guess you can go. Remember to listen to Aunt Amelia and to be on your best behavior. If you don't go to daycare, you'd be stuck at the practice with us all day. It's not very fun there when you're there all day. It's different when you come for a little while after school or we just stop for a few hours on the weekend."

"Please, Mommy? I promise I'll be really good. I can stay in your office and color and play my games all day," Ella had acquired quite a few coloring books and games that were kept at the practice.

"I'd have to talk to everyone else about it. Have fun tomorrow. Remember the only thing you can buy tomorrow is a place to live. I don't want to come home to a ton of new stuff we're going to have to pack," Addison reminded Amelia.


	3. Chapter 3

A week and a half after Ella returned to LA, most of the stuff in the beach house was packed in boxes scattered throughout the house. Ella had talked to Mark almost every day and was excited about moving and being near her family in Seattle. Addison was starting to feel the stress that went with having a six-year-old home from school for the summer and getting ready to move cross-country with a young child.

One evening after tucking Ella into bed, Addison came downstairs and collapsed onto the couch. "You okay, Addie?" questioned Amelia, looking up from the book she had been reading.

"I'm just super tired. I think it's just from staying up late to work on packing everything and eating crappy meals. There is no way I'm going to get everything packed in the next two days. I'm crazy for trying to move essentially by myself in two weeks."

Setting down the book in her hand, Amelia started, "I can help you, you know. I'm moving into my condo in a month. I've got quite a bit of packing to do, too. I've lived here for two years and our stuff has gotten mixed together, like I know for a fact that not all of those movies are yours'. Why don't you take the next few days off? I'm sure everyone else won't mind. You don't have any patients scheduled before you leave. If we need something, we can call you in. Now, it's only 9 o'clock. We can still get quite a bit of packing done before calling it a night. I'll grab the wine, you grab the boxes."

"Amelia, you know you can't drink. You're still going to meetings every day. I'm gonna have to trust Charlotte and Violet to make sure you keep going after I leave."

Stopping in her tracks, Amelia turned around. "The wine isn't for me. I can tell you need a glass or two. You don't have to worry about me slipping again. I haven't missed a meeting in over six months. Charlotte even goes with me most days, mainly to make sure I'm going. You have enough to worry about once you move, you can stop worrying about me."

"A glass of wine sounds wonderful. Just so you know, I'll always worry about you, but I'm sure we'll be talking every day, so I know you'll keep clean."

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><p>Addison took Amelia's advice and took the next two days off from work. By the time Amelia returned home with take-out for dinner the second day, everything had been packed, with the exception of the furniture, which the movers were going to pack the next morning.<p>

"Mommy, can we have a sleepover for our last night here?" Ella asked from the stool at the island while Addison unpacked their dinner.

"What do you mean by sleepover? We really can't have everyone spend the night here, there isn't enough room with all the boxes everywhere."

"Can we watch a movie and all sleep in your bed? I'm going to miss sleepovers with Auntie 'Melia." Whenever Addison was working late at the hospital and Amelia was taking care of Ella for the night, they'd have sleepovers consisting of watching a movie in bed. Ella loved them because they were something that didn't happen very often. It was the one thing she had stated since accepting the move that she was really going to miss.

Sighing, Addison replied, "You'll have to ask Amelia, but it's okay with me. You know she's coming to Seattle with us for a week or two; I'm sure you'll have at least one sleepover before she comes back here. Why don't you go get ready for bed so we can eat and then have our sleepover?"

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><p>Following their sleepover and seeing that Ella was sound asleep in the middle of Addison's king size bed, Addison and Amelia both slipped out of the room to pack the last few things in Ella's room they had been waiting until the next morning to pack.<p>

"I know I've said it several hundred times, but thanks for everything, Addie," Amelia said as she pulled the sheets off Ella's bed.

Addison stopped packing things into the box in front of her and looked at Amelia, "And every time you've thanked me, I've told you that you're family and that's what family does. We take each other in and help when they're in trouble. You know I never stopped considering you my sister after the divorce. Your sisters all hate me, but you stuck by me. You were the only Shepherd to take my side in the divorce, mainly because you and Derek still weren't talking. Ella's a great kid and you have made life so much easier for me by being here and looking out for her."

"Yeah, I guess the kid does love me," replied Amelia, smirking.

"I didn't want her to turn out all WASP-y like I did and I think by you being around helped keep her normal. Helping me to realize it's okay for her to play outside and get dirty, not have to sit inside all day. You know you're going to have to Skype her every day, right?"

"I know. Can we finish this so we can crash? We've got a long day tomorrow and we're both exhausted."


	4. Chapter 4

Two days later, Addison, Amelia, and Ella arrived in Seattle. Callie and Arizona helped look for an apartment for them and found a three-bedroom apartment in their building that was available immediately. As they made their way toward the building, Addison called the landlord to have him meet them to get the keys and for Addison to sign the lease agreement.

When Addison turned the car into the parking lot in front of the building, Ella recognized it right away. "This is Daddy's apartment! Are we living with Daddy?"

Turning the car off, Addison answered, "Yes, this is the same building as Daddy's apartment and it's where we're going to live, but we're not going to live with Daddy. He lives on the third floor and our apartment is on the second floor. Daddy lives with Lexie and sometimes Sofia. It's going to be just us here."

As Amelia got Ella out of the backseat, she looked at Addison, "I'm sure she doesn't want to hang out while you get all the paperwork in order. Mark's home, I can take her up to see him."

"I get to see Daddy?"

"Yep, go see Daddy. He doesn't know we're living here, yet. Do you want to tell him?" Addison asked as Ella nodded her head.

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><p>Ella bounced around the elevator the entire ride to the third floor and as soon as the doors opened, she took off towards Mark's door. Upon arriving at the door, she pounded as hard as her six-year-old fist could. "Just a minute," called a voice from inside as Amelia approached the door.<p>

"Ella, Amelia, what are you doing here? I thought you were still driving up today?" Lexie asked after opening the door and allowing the two into the apartment.

"We're moving here," shared Ella.

Feeling the need to clarify what Ella had just said, Amelia spoke, "Addison got an apartment downstairs. She hadn't told Mark yet that they would be in the same building as you guys and Ella wanted to tell you right away. Addie thought if you or Mark weren't working tonight, Ella could stay here while we work on unpacking her room."

"That's fine with me. Mark is across the hall right now. We both work tomorrow, so we'd have to bring her down pretty early tomorrow, unless one of you want to come up here until she wakes up. Hey, Ella. Your dad's across the hall by Sofia right now, do you want to go see him?" Lexie called down the hall. Ella ran to her room almost immediately after giving Lexie a hug when she opened the door.

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><p>That evening, Mark, Lexie, Callie and Sofia were in Addison's new apartment, enjoying yet another meal of take-out, and helping to unpack. Well, Sofia wasn't helping, but Ella was excited about seeing her little sister and the girls were playing in what was going to be Ella's room.<p>

As they worked to unpack the boxes labeled 'kitchen' Callie commented, "I think Sofia will love having Ella around more now that they're getting old enough to actually play together."

"Speaking of Ella and Sofia, they're going to have another sibling to play with in about seven months. I'm pregnant," stated Lexie.

The room was filled with a chorus of congratulations and hugs to both Lexie and Mark. "How far along are you exactly?" Addison asked.

"Eight and a half weeks. I'd been exhausted a few weeks ago, but I thought it was just from having worked so much. When everything settled down, I was still super tired and then I realized I was a few weeks late, so I took a test and it was positive. I wanted to confirm it, so I took a test at the hospital and told Mark that night."

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><p>A few hours later, everyone had gone back to their apartments and Ella had gone with Mark and Lexie as Addison and Amelia worked to set up Addison's bed and the couch so they could go to bed. Once everything was set for the night, Addison told Amelia she was running to the store to get some groceries for the next morning and returned with two paper bags.<p>

Amelia helped to put the groceries away and got to the bottom of the bag when she stopped. "Addie? What's this?"

"What does it look like? Did all those drugs fry your brain last year? Give me it. I'll be right back."

"Are you pregnant? When was the last time you even had sex?" questioned Amelia, choosing to ignore Addison's drug comment.

"I've been exhausted the past few weeks and I'm late. I just want to be sure. I'm forty-six, it could just be menopause. I'll give you more details if there are more to give. Lexie talking about being tired and late made me realize that I'm a week late," Addison said as she walked into the bathroom, only to emerge a few minutes later with the piece of plastic in her hands.

She didn't say anything as she sat on the couch, still staring at the test in her hand. Her thoughts were interrupted when Amelia asked, "Is it positive? Am I going to be an auntie again?"


	5. Chapter 5

Addison sat in silence for a few more minutes before Amelia finally snatched the test from her hands. "Do you know who the father is? It's not Mark again, is it? If you're a week late, that means it was about three weeks ago, which was right around the time you brought Ella up here for Father's Day."

"Shut up, Amelia. Yes, I know who the father and no, it's not Mark. Can you please not say anything to anyone about this? I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I need to talk to the father first, find out what he thinks. I'll be back in a little while. Don't say a word," Addison said, picking up her car keys and heading towards the door.

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><p>Once she reached her car, she pulled out her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found who she was looking for. Across the street at the hospital, Alex was searching for an empty on-call room to crash for a few hours, or until he was paged again.<p>

"Addison, hi. I didn't think I'd hear from you until you start work next week. What's up?" Alex answered his phone.

"I need to talk to you. Are you at home? I'd rather not talk to you where there are tons of people around."

"I'm at the hospital. I just walked into the on-call room by peds. There's no one else in here and there aren't many people who you'd know working tonight."

"Okay. My apartment's in the building across the street. I'll be there in a few minutes. Don't let anyone else in that room. We need to be alone."

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><p>Fifteen minutes later, Addison was approaching the on-call room Alex had mentioned in their conversation earlier. Taking a breath, she knocked and the door was quickly opened as her wrist was grabbed and she was pulled into the room.<p>

"I know it was good, but I didn't think I'd be hearing from you the night you got into town and especially not in an on-call room. We did that once before and you took off the next day. I won't be the reason you leave Seattle again," stated Alex while he settled back on the bed.

"I need to talk to you Alex. I'm not here for sex. I've been really tired lately and I realized earlier tonight that I'm late, so I took a test. I'm pregnant, Alex. You're the only person I've had sex with in months," Addison paused, trying to judge his reaction to her news, but was met with a straight face. "I think I'm going to have the baby. If you don't want to be a part of the baby's life, that's fine. I can just tell people I got inseminated right before I moved. I've raised Ella basically on my own, I can do it with this baby, too."

Alex still sat quietly on the bed as Addison sat next to him; she had been pacing in front of the bed while she told Alex her news. Finally he leaned forward and said, "we're going to have a baby. You know there's a chance for the kid to be crazy, I mean, look at my family. I'm living back with Meredith and Derek, but I can get my own place so I can take the baby on my own. I know you wouldn't like me setting up a crib in the corner of my room in that house."

"Alex, don't rush to get your own place. A lot can happen between now and the time this baby comes. You have to admit, there is, and always has been, something between us. We have ended up together every time I'm in Seattle for the past year or so. We've never talked about it, but now I think we need to talk about it," Addison said.

Slowly, Alex leaned over and pulled Addison into a hug. "I think we have a lot of talking to do in the next few months and for the rest of our lives. I know I rejected you before my intern exam, but I was scared then. I didn't want to be just another intern sleeping with an attending. I'm a different person now; I've worked out a lot of the problems I was dealing with then. I'm going to be there for you for this pregnancy and I'm going to be there for our kid. I don't want to be the kind of father mine was."

Eventually, Addison relaxed into Alex's embrace and they leaned against the pillow together. "I want to stay, I really do, but I told Amelia I'd only be gone a little while. I don't start working until next Monday. Call me when you get off. You can come over and we can talk more."


	6. Chapter 6

By now, it was well after 10pm on their first night in Seattle and Mark was having a hard time with Ella. He had always been the 'fun' parent when she came to visit and was rather lenient with her bedtime. Now that she was going to be in Seattle full-time with Mark and Addison being more equal in their parenting roles than in the past, he was trying to be more serious without much luck.

"Ella Elizabeth Montgomery-Sloan. It is time for bed. I know I've never forced you to go to bed early before, but it's way past your bedtime and your mom won't be happy if I have to call her up here. You have two minutes to get your pajamas on and to get into bed," Mark said sternly as he closed Ella's bedroom door, only to find Lexie standing in the hallway.

"You just have to ignore her when she's refusing to go to bed. Eventually she'll wear herself out and crash. My parents used to do it to me all the time when I was her age. You know you're a great dad and she's just testing her limits. She'll settle down eventually. I'll put her to bed. You go wait for me in our room," Lexie said as she placed a small kiss on Mark's cheek.

Lexie opened the bedroom door to find Ella lying on her bed, clutching a stuffed animal. As Lexie made her was across the room, she could tell by Ella's breathing that she was almost asleep. Carefully, Lexie pulled the blankets from under her and tucked her in. "Night, mommy Lexie," whispered Ella as she snuggled into the bed.

Lexie had to admit, even though it freaked her out, she liked that Ella had just called her 'mommy.' She had watched the girl grow up since she was a few months old and always had more of a friendship than a parent-child relationship with her.

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><p>By the time Addison returned to the apartment that night, Amelia was asleep on the couch with the television on. Addison turned off the television and made her way to the master bedroom at the end of the hallway. Collapsing onto her bed, she started talking to herself, something she hadn't done in years. The last time she talked to herself regularly was when she was pregnant with Ella; she usually claimed she was talking to the baby, but it was really her thinking out loud.<p>

"We're gonna be okay. I'm not in the middle of a divorce this time. Your father isn't my ex-husband's best friend. Ella is going to be so excited to have another little brother or sister. You'll be her third one. I've seen her with Sofia and she is going to love you so much. I can't believe I'm pregnant again. When I was in med school and doing my residency, I thought I'd have kids with Derek, but that never happened. Maybe our marriage falling apart was the best thing that ever happened."

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><p>"She called me Mommy, Mark. Ella called me Mommy," stated Lexie as she crawled into bed and rested her head on Mark's chest.<p>

Slowly, he ran his fingers through her hair. "I doubt Addison will mind. You know Sofia calls you mommy and Callie and Arizona have gotten used to it."

"I've always just been 'Lexie' to Ella. When I was tucking her in, she called me mommy Lexie. Sofia calls me mommy because she's little and doesn't realize how many moms she has. It still freaks me out, but I'm not going to correct a one-year-old."

"You aren't going to freak when our baby calls you mommy, are you? I was thinking about what you said about needing a bigger place. I'm going to talk to the landlord about getting a three-bedroom when one's available. I doubt Addison would have picked this building if we didn't live in it. She picked it for the convenience of Ella being close to me. With a three-bedroom, our baby can have their own room while Ella and Sofia can still share one since they'll rarely be here at the same time," Mark explained.

"I don't want to think about that. We've still got plenty of time before our baby is born. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow. I know she's not working yet, but do you think Addison will be my doctor, or would that be too weird?"

"Let me know what time the appointment is and I'll be there. I think Addison would be happy to be your doctor. She dropped everything and flew up here for Sofia and I'm sure she would have even if they hadn't had the accident."

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><p>Addison was awoken the next morning to the sounds of Ella and Amelia outside her door. Groaning, she patted down the bed, looking for her cell phone to see what time it was. She was somewhat surprised to see that it was after nine; Addison couldn't remember when the last time was she had slept that late. She also saw that she had two missed calls, a voicemail, and several texts, all from the same person: Alex Karev.<p>

Hitting the one on her phone, she put the phone to her ear to listen to the voicemail. "Hey, Addison, it's me. You said to call you when I got off work so we could talk more. I'm guessing you're still sleeping, so I'll call you later. I'm off all day today, maybe we can meet for coffee or I can bring lunch over for you and Ella, maybe take her to the park or something."

The texts all said the same thing, that he was heading home and to let him know when she wanted to talk. After deleting both the voicemail and the texts, she pulled herself out of bed to see what Ella was up to.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: This chapter is super long, hope you enjoy it!**

Looking around the room and seeing that most of Ella's stuff was in its place, Addison suggested, "I think all this hard work deserves a trip to the park after lunch. What do you say, Ella-Beth?" using her nickname for her daughter.

The idea of the park caused Ella to squeal in delight as she continued to unpack the box on the floor, but at a much faster pace as Addison walked into the kitchen, looking for some coffee, only to be followed by Amelia, who stopped her from reaching for the coffee pot.

"You can't have coffee. Did you forget that you're pregnant?"

"No, I didn't forget. One cup of coffee won't hurt the baby. I'm taking Ella to the park later, you can join us if you want, but Alex is going to be there and we have a lot of talking that I'd rather you not listen to. You can play with Ella if you go, or you can go to the hospital to try to talk to your brother."

"Alex, the douche bag who constantly hits on anyone with a vagina? He's the father?" exclaimed Amelia.

"Yes. He's not as bad as he seems once you get past that outer shell. Please, keep it down. You and him are the only two who know I'm pregnant and I'm not ready to tell everyone yet. Once Ella knows, there's no chance of keeping it a secret."

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><p>After a simple lunch consisting of sandwiches, chips, and fruit snacks eaten off paper plates, it was time to meet Alex at the park down the block from the hospital. Ever since Addison suggested a trip to the park, Ella asked every little while if it was time for lunch yet. Amelia decided to skip the park trip, promising Ella they would go to the park together before she flew back to LA the next week.<p>

As they approached the park, Ella let go of Addison's hand and took off running toward the swing set. They were there earlier than Alex, so Addison decided to enjoy the time with her daughter who had been really good about the move since her meltdown over it on the way home from the airport a few weeks earlier.

Pushing her on the swing, Addison decided to let Ella know what was going to happen, "One of my friends from the hospital is on his way here right now."

"Is it Uncle Derek? I haven't seen him yet and I didn't see him when I was visiting Daddy before we moved," she asked.

"No, it's not Uncle Derek. Maybe we can go see him at the hospital later. Do you know Alex? He works with Arizona a lot. He lives with Meredith and Derek," Addison was trying to help her realize who Alex was and that she liked him.

Continuing to swing for a few more moments before answering Addison, Ella finally spoke, "I think I know Alex. I'll probably know him more once I see him, right?"

"Exactly. Once he gets here, he and I have some stuff we need to talk about. Will you be okay playing by yourself for a little while? We'll just be on the bench over there. If you get bored playing, let us know. We don't mind if you interrupt us, but just this one time. It's not going to be every time we're talking that I give you permission to interrupt us."

Right at that moment, Alex walked up to the swing set and sat on the swing next to Ella. "Hi, Ella. I haven't seen you in a while; you sure have grown up lately."

"I'm six-years-old. I start first grade soon. Are you Alex?"

"Yes, I am. Is it okay if I talk to your mom for awhile? If you let me talk to her now, I'll play on the monkey bars with you."

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><p>Walking away from the swing set, Alex waited for Addison to take a seat on the bench before sitting next to her. Sitting quietly for a few minutes while shuffling the dirt with his toe, Alex didn't know what to say.<p>

"You were the one who called me asking if we could talk. We can't just sit here, watching Ella play. So you know, I gave her permission to interrupt us if she needs to since I figured this was probably how it was going to go," Addison informed Alex.

It took Alex another minute before finally speaking, "When you told me you were pregnant, the only thing I could think of, was 'please don't let Mark or Derek beat me up when they find out about this.' Did I ever tell you about the time Rebecca came back after you left for LA?"

"Rebecca, like Ava, Rebecca came back? I haven't heard this story," Addison said, turning to face Alex.

"She came back and we slept together in an on-call room. She went home to her husband and daughter, only to return a month later on Halloween, saying she was pregnant with my baby. Izzie did the exam and she wasn't pregnant. I tried to explain it to her, but it only worsened her depression and PTSD. Eventually, she cut her wrists in the kitchen of Meredith's house and I had to commit her to the psych ward after calling her husband. I haven't heard from her since and that was almost five years ago."

"I won't go crazy on you and I really am pregnant. Were you excited about the baby?"

Glancing at Ella as she went down the slide, Alex answered, "I don't know that I was really excited about it, but I was willing to take responsibility for it. Even then, I didn't want to leave someone on their own with my kid. How is this going to work between us? Are you going to let me take care of the baby on my own or am I just going to be the cool uncle?"

Sighing, Addison started, "You will not be the cool uncle unless you want to. Don't tell Mark that I said this, but I've basically raised Ella on my own up until now and I think she's turned out just fine. I left for LA because I didn't really want to have a baby with him, but I did. By moving, I wouldn't be forced to really let him be a parent. Now that she's older, it wasn't such scary idea for me. That and the fact that Lexie is there helps."

"So the idea of having a baby with me and actually letting me help raise it doesn't freak you out?"

It took Addison a minute to answer. She was distracted by Ella, who was calling for her to watch her go across the monkey bars. "Since I've had a few hours to let it sink in that I'm pregnant again, it doesn't freak me out as much as I thought it would. I actually considered aborting Ella, almost immediately after finding out I was pregnant, but I haven't had that thought with this baby. I'm also not just getting out of a very screwed up marriage and the father isn't my husband's best friend. I just need to know one thing, Alex."

Tilting his head as he looked at her, he asked, "What's that?"

"By being a part of this baby's life, you're probably going to be a big part of my life, especially right after he or she is born. By being in my life, you're also a part of Ella's. Are you okay with that?"

"I know we have a lot to discuss in the next eight months, but between now and then, I'm hoping you'll let me be around you and Ella enough so that it's not weird for me to be around for her after the baby is born. Give her a chance to get to know me, give you a chance to get to know me."


	8. Chapter 8

Alex asking Addison to give him a chance to get to know him was the end of their conversation at the park due to Ella running up and dragging Alex over to the monkey bars, reminding him that he promised to play with her.

A week later, Amelia had returned to Los Angeles, Addison was starting back at the hospital, and Ella would be spending her days in the hospital daycare until school started. Addison knew it would just be a matter of time before the entire hospital knew about her pregnancy and she didn't want Ella to hear it from someone there. Even though she was only six weeks along and knew there was a chance of this being a high-risk pregnancy, she decided to tell Ella.

Following dinner the night before starting work and daycare, Addison decided it was the best time to tell Ella. "Ella, sweetie, I need to talk to you," Addison said, patting the couch next to her, indicating she wanted her daughter to join her.

Ella put down the toys she was playing with on the coffee table and climbed on the couch, snuggling next to her mother. "I'm a good listener and I like to talk. What do you need to talk to me about, Mommy?"

"Do you remember when we talked about where babies come from?" Addison asked, looking at Ella to see her nodding her head. "And you know Alex?" Another nod. "What would you say if I told you that you're going to have another little brother or sister?"

"I already know Daddy and Lexie are having a baby, Mommy," stated Ella as she twisted her body to almost be lying in Addison's lap.

Sighing, Addison knew this wasn't going to be easy. "What about another one? So you'll have Sofia, Daddy and Lexie's baby, and another one?"

"I don't get it."

"Sweetie, I'm going to have a baby. Alex is going to be the baby's daddy."

"Okay. So is Daddy not going to be my daddy anymore?"

Sometimes Addison loved the way her six-year-old's mind worked, more worried about her father than the fact that Addison was pregnant. "No, sweetheart. Daddy is still going to be your daddy. You know how Sofia is your sister even though you have different moms?" Another nod against her lap. "It's the same thing, except you and the baby will have different dads."

"Is the baby going to live with us all the time or is it going to live with Alex?" So far, Ella was grasping this pretty well.

"The baby is going to live with us most of the time. You know how you stay with Daddy sometimes? The baby is going to stay with Alex sometimes."

"Is the baby going to be really little like Sofia was?"

"I hope not. Babies usually aren't that small when they're born, but Sofia was because she and Callie got hurt in a car accident," explained Addison.

"Okay. When is the baby going to come?" asked Ella.

"I went to the doctor to find out the other day and the baby should come around the beginning of March."

"My birthday's in March! Is it going to come on my birthday? I don't want to share my birthday." Ella's birthday was near the end of March.

"The doctor thinks it will come a few weeks before your birthday, so you shouldn't have to share your birthday. Do you want to keep talking about this or do you want to get your stuff ready for tomorrow? Remember you're staying with Daddy and Lexie tomorrow night. They'll pick you up from daycare and bring you to their apartment."

"I'm kinda sleepy, so get my stuff ready. What time do I have to get up tomorrow? Can I set my new alarm clock?"

Working at the hospital meant earlier days than working at the practice, so Addison let Ella choose an alarm clock to help get her up. Addison wasn't expecting the alarm clock to help get her up, but it excited her and made her feel grown-up.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Ella was up before Addison and made it known that she was wide awake when she entered Addison's room and climbed onto the bed, placing her face just inches from Addison's. Addison could sense that she was being watched and slowly opened one eye, then the other. While Ella was distracted by the fact that Addison was waking up, Addison grabbed her daughter and began to tickle her, causing the girl to laugh uncontrollably.<p>

After a brief tickle attack, Addison realized they had to get ready to leave. She poured Ella a bowl of cereal and set an outfit on Ella's bed for her to change into while Addison took a quick shower. By the time Addison finished her shower and exited the bathroom, the six-year-old was sitting on Addison's bed wearing the jean skirt, yellow flowered shirt and pink tights Addison had set out. Seeing her daughter dressed and almost ready to go, Addison hurried her pace. They still had plenty of time before needing to leave, but Addison hated making the girl wait.

After finishing her make-up, Addison sat on the bed behind Ella and took the hairbrush from her hand. "Do you want your hair down or pigtails today?"

"Braided pigtails, please. Do I have to take my stuff for Daddy's with me or can we pick it up later?"

"I gave Daddy a key for our apartment to pick your stuff up after you leave daycare. I'm working later than Daddy, so he's picking you up and you'll stop here to get your bag before going upstairs for the night. I'll try to visit you at lunchtime, but I can't promise that. Are you scared about starting daycare?"

"Nope. I'm excited cuz Sofia's there and I get to spend all day with her."

Glancing at her watch, Addison realized they had to leave in the next few minutes. "Go grab your daycare backpack. We've gotta leave."


	9. Chapter 9

The first few weeks back in Seattle were rather uneventful for Addison and Ella. Ella was spending Monday, Thursday, and Saturday nights with Mark. Those were usually the nights that Alex came over so he and Addison could talk about her pregnancy and what was going to happen after the baby was born. No one at the hospital knew they were expecting, but when Addison took Ella upstairs one night the week before she was going to start school, she decided to tell him.

A fourteen-week pregnant Lexie opened the door and let Ella and Addison in. Ella immediately ran towards her room to put her backpack away as Lexie invited Addison to sit and talk.

"Is Mark home? I need to talk to him about some stuff that I didn't feel like bringing up when I saw him at work yesterday," just as Addison said this, Mark walked out of the bathroom.

"I'm right here. What's going on? Everything's fine with Ella, right?" Just hearing the questions when she said she needed to talk to him made her not want to tell him what she was about to.

"She's fine, great actually. I'm surprised at how well she's accepted the move and all the changes that have been going on lately. The first thing I wanted to bring up was getting a nanny for Ella. With her starting school, it will be easier to have someone pick her up from school and bring her home to do her homework, eat dinner, and go to bed a regular time. I had one for her in LA last school year and she loved it," started Addison.

Mark paused before answering, "I guess a nanny would make it easier for us. One of us wouldn't have to leave the hospital every day at three to pick her up. I want to have a say in who the nanny is, though."

"With you being an equal parent now, I'd have been surprised if you hadn't wanted to have a say in who the nanny is."

At this point, Lexie interrupted, "You said that was the first thing. I wanna hear what the second thing is and I have to leave in a few minutes," noticing the look Mark was giving her, she continued, "Sorry. I feel like a mother to Ella; I want to know what's going on with her."

"I talked to Ella about this three weeks ago and to be honest, I'm surprised she hasn't already mentioned it to you. I'm nine weeks pregnant."

"Did you do artificial insemination or something before you moved? I didn't know you were seeing anyone," stated Lexie.

"I'm wasn't and I'm still not seeing anyone. It wasn't artificial insemination, I got pregnant the old fashioned way."

Addison couldn't help but laugh at Mark's reaction. "I swear it's not mine, Lexie! Who's the father? Do we know him?"

"You know him, before I say who it is, promise you won't hit him the next time you see him. He's been really supportive since I told him and he's completely on board with being an active part of the baby's life."

"Why would I hit him? You're happy, Ella's happy, I'm happy," stated Mark.

"Fine. I already told him that I was telling you tonight, so he's probably going to steer clear of you for the next few days. It's Alex. I slept with him over Father's Day and found out I was pregnant after the move," Addison was waiting for any kind of reaction from either Mark or Lexie when Ella came back into the living room.

Ella sat on the couch between Mark and Lexie and gave her father a hug. "Did you tell them about the baby, Mommy? Is Daddy going to be mad at Alex? I really like Alex, he's nice. He visits me at daycare and plays on the monkey bars with me."

Squeezing his daughter, Mark answered for Addison. "She told us about the baby. I'm surprised, but since you like Alex so much, I won't be mad at him. Are you thinking about what you want for dinner?"

Addison was pleasantly surprised at how well Mark took her news, but contributed some of that to Ella's presence.

* * *

><p>Addison was planning to spend the evening alone due to fact that Alex was also working that night, so she was quite surprised when there was a knock on her door as she was getting ready for bed. Looking in the peephole, she was surprised to see Alex standing in the hall and quickly opened the door.<p>

"What are you doing here? I thought you had to work."

"I left my resident with instructions to page me if anything happened. I knew Ella would be with Mark and I've gotten kind of used to our nights. I saw Lexie at the hospital; she told me that you told her and Mark about the baby. How'd he take it? I mean, he didn't come hunt me down right away, so I'm guessing it didn't go horribly."

By now, Addison had let Alex into the apartment and he was making himself comfortable on the couch after having poured himself a glass of apple juice. "You know you didn't have to leave work to come hang out with me. I was actually looking forward to going to bed early tonight."

Alex sighed and answered, "I'm still trying to figure out what we are to each other. We flirted a lot before you moved to LA, but once we got together, you left. Since then, whenever you've been in Seattle and I've been available, we've ended up together. It usually starts with you yelling at me for something you heard I did and then we get drunk and I leave your hotel before we have a chance to talk about it."

"Alex, we're friends. I know before I moved to LA, I wanted to be more than friends, but you shot me down. If something happens between us, great, if not, I just want us to be able to civil towards one another for the sake of the baby. Ella has started to get attached to you, so if you bail, she'll know and I don't want to disappoint her with yet another failed relationship."


	10. Chapter 10

Following Addison telling Alex she didn't want to start something with him because she didn't want to hurt Ella, he didn't talk to her outside of work for almost two weeks. Finally she felt the need to hunt him down at the hospital, using the excuse she needed him for a consult.

"What could you possibly need me for a consult for?" Alex asked as he walked up to the conference room Addison had paged him to.

She closed the chart she had been working on and walked over to the door, shutting it. "Since you seem to have been avoiding me the past few weeks, I figured you wouldn't give me a chance to talk to you unless you thought it was about work. Please listen to me."

Slouching in the chair he had made himself comfortable in, he replied, "Fine, I'm listening."

"I have an ultrasound on Monday morning; I'd thought you'd like to come."

"I'll be there, just let me know when. Is everything else okay?"

"Yeah. My pants are starting to get really tight. I didn't start to get a bump for another few weeks with Ella."

"That's normal with it being your second pregnancy, though. How does Ella like school?"

"She loves it so far. She keeps asking when you're going to take her to the park again. She misses you, Alex. We both miss you. I'd been enjoying getting to know you and seeing what kind of father you would be."

"I'm off tomorrow, if it's okay, could I pick Ella up from school and take her to the park, maybe pick something up for dinner for you and her?" asked Alex.

"I'd have to check with the nanny, let her know she can have tomorrow off, but I'd be fine with that. I'm sure Ella would love that, too. She's supposed to be with Mark tomorrow night, but I'm sure he'll be fine with having her both Friday and Saturday night instead. He never gets two nights in a row with her."

"Check with Mark and the nanny and let me know. Also, decide what you're gonna want me to pick up for dinner, otherwise Ella will want McDonald's and I know you don't like to let her have it very often."

"Please don't ignore me again like you have been. I'm scared of rushing into anything now. I've only had one relationship since I had Ella and when it ended, she was hurt more than me because she didn't understand that she wasn't why Sam left."

Walking around the table to give Addison a hug, Alex replied, "I promise to not hurt you, or Ella, or our baby. I'm in this for good, even it's just to be a father to our baby. I have to go. Robbins has me checking on a patient every half hour."

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, Addison had given up her hiding place in the conference room as she searched the hospital for Mark, finally finding him in the hospital daycare with Sofia. Seeing him through the glass, Addison opened the door and made her way to the corner he was sitting in with his daughter in his lap.<p>

"Do you have any idea how hard you are to find in this hospital, Mark?" Addison asked, startling him because he hadn't seen or heard her walk up.

"Lexie's in surgery right now, so I thought I'd come see how Sofia's doing. She had a bit of a cold the past few days. What's going on?"

"I know tomorrow is Thursday, which means it's your night with Ella, but I was wondering if you would switch Thursday for Friday this week? You'd have her both Friday and Saturday, then," pointed out Addison as she took a seat on the floor next to Mark and began to stroke Sofia's arm as she began to fall asleep.

Sighing, Mark asked, "Sure, that's fine with me. Why do you need to switch nights?"

"I told Alex that I wasn't looking for a relationship right now; that I didn't want to hurt Ella if it didn't work out. He hasn't talked to me in two weeks because of it. He's off tomorrow and he asked if he could pick Ella up from school and pick up dinner for us as a way to make it up to me."

"He's really not the ass he used to be. Just remind him that if he hurts you or Ella, I'm gonna hurt him," stated Mark. He made his feelings about Alex being with Addison known every chance he got. He was fine with them being together, but if anything happened, he had promised to beat the crap out of Alex.

Putting Sofia in one of the cribs in the daycare, Mark and Addison left her sleeping and made their way back to the surgical floor.

* * *

><p>That evening, Addison was able to leave the hospital in time to have dinner with Ella and let the nanny leave early. During dinner, Addison told Ella that Alex was going to pick her up from school the next day and take her to the park before having dinner with them. Ella was overjoyed by this news and spent the night asking Addison about why she hadn't seen Alex lately.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: I love that you all are enjoying my story. It's looking like there's going to be about 20 chapters to this story, so it's half over. I'm going to a conference this weekend, so I probably won't post another chapter until sometime Sunday. I've got the next few chapters written and uploaded, I'm just not sure if I'll have internet access at the conference to post the next chapter. As always, enjoy & reviews are greatly appreciated.**

* * *

><p>As promised, Alex arrived at Ella's school ten minutes before she would be getting out for the afternoon. He chose to wait in his car until he saw kids start to leave the building before meeting Ella near the front of the building. A smile crept across Alex's face when he saw the first grader running towards him.<p>

While hugging Alex, Ella stated, "I missed you. Please don't leave again."

Releasing her from the hug, taking her backpack from her, and grabbing her hand while they walked to the car, Alex answered, "I missed you, too. I promise to not leave again as long as your mom says I can keep hanging out with the two of you. We have to stop at home before the park for you to change out of your uniform."

Addison had decided to enroll Ella in one of Seattle's best private schools, which was conveniently only a few blocks from both the apartment and hospital. Had Alex not been doing errands before needing to pick up Ella, he probably would have parked at the apartment and walked, which is what Ella did with her nanny every day.

They were able to play at the park for about half an hour before it started to rain. Addison had decided she wanted chicken for dinner; Alex had been planning on picking up some fried chicken, but with the extra time due to the rain, he chose to stop at the grocery store and pick up supplies to cook for her and Ella.

* * *

><p>"Alex, do you love my mommy?" Ella asked as he was in the middle of getting the chicken ready to put in the oven.<p>

Perplexed by the question, Alex answered it with another question, "Why do you ask that?"

"Well, you and mommy are having a baby together, and mommy told me that people have babies when they love each other. You have to love each other since you're having a baby together."

"Oh," replied Alex, trying to come up with an answer Addison would be okay with if Ella shared the conversation with her. "I used to really hate your mom when I first met her, but pretty much everyone here did. Once I got to work with her, I began to like her; I liked her a lot. I guess you would say that I love your mom. You know who else I love?"

Ella sat on the stool for a minute before saying, "No. Who?"

"You. Why don't you find a game or book for us to read until dinner's ready? I think your mom will be home soon."

* * *

><p>Addison walked through the door of her apartment, expecting to find a bucket of chicken on the counter, so she was quite surprised to see Alex taking a pan of shake and bake chicken out of the oven and Ella setting the table. Setting her bag next to the couch, she asked, "What's this? I thought you were picking up dinner, not making it."<p>

"We decided to make dinner since it rained when we were at the park," stated Ella as she carried the glass of milk Alex had poured her to the table.

Alex set the chicken on the table, joining the baked potatoes and mixed veggies that were already waiting for them. "I figured you'd be expecting a bucket of chicken. I do know how to cook, you know. It's never anything fancy, but I know how to cook enough to get by. You know about my parents; I was the one who usually made sure my brother and sister got something to eat every day."

* * *

><p>Following dinner, Ella did the worksheet she had for homework before getting ready for bed. She convinced Alex he should play a few more games with her before she actually went to bed and insisted he read her a story instead of Addison. Once Ella was asleep in her bed, Alex returned to the living room where Addison was watching a made for TV movie.<p>

Making himself comfortable on the couch, he said, "Thanks for letting me hang out with Ella today. I think she had fun, I know I did."

"If you did all of this today as some way to show me that you'd be a good father and to let you be part of the baby's life, you didn't have to. I've seen you with those kids in the hospital; I know you'll be great with our baby," stated Addison as she turned off the television.

"I wanted to do all of this. I guess part of it was to show you that I really am a good guy, but mainly because I wanted to."

"Have you ever heard about what Callie told me when we had Jane Doe slash Ava slash Rebecca as a patient?" Addison paused long enough to notice Alex shaking his head. "Apparently Callie had noticed how close we had been getting working her case. I was talking about how Mark wanted a real relationship, but I didn't want that with him; I wanted a guy who would barbecue and play ball with his kids. We were watching you in the patient room and she was insistent that you were the type of guy who screwed around in his twenties, but then settled down and barbecued and played ball. I laughed it off because I didn't want to be another attending sleeping with an intern."

"But you were another attending sleeping with an intern. I doubt that anyone found out we slept together then, they've figured out that we ended up almost every time you've been here, though."

She quickly corrected him, "We were only together once while you were an intern. Don't tell Callie this, but I guess she was right about you."

"I won't tell," promised Alex as he moved closer to Addison on the couch, wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.


	12. Chapter 12

A month after Alex spent the afternoon with Ella, Mark was having lunch with the two pregnant women in his life. By now, Addison was sixteen weeks and Lexie was twenty one and a half weeks. Even though Addison had been one of the first people to give Mark a hard time about dating Lexie, she was glad to have someone to go through her pregnancy with. Mark, on the other hand, was sick of constantly hearing about their pregnancies and was convinced they purposely only talked about them whenever he was within earshot.

"Since Ella doesn't have school on Friday, would it be cool if I take her shopping with me? I have my ultrasound tomorrow to find out if it's a boy or girl and I want to start getting stuff right away. Besides, I've been working the past few times she's been with Mark for the night," Lexie asked between bites of her sandwich.

Finishing the bite of salad she had just put in her mouth, Addison answered, "That would be great, actually. Her nanny is in college and has class in the morning. If Ella's with you, we wouldn't have to figure out who's watching her or try to get her into daycare for just one day. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to go shopping."

"Yeah, she's definitely your daughter when it comes to shopping," Mark said sarcastically.

* * *

><p>Three days later, Mark had left for work, leaving Lexie and Ella to their day of shopping. The six-year-old was definitely excited about going shopping, she was slightly upset when she realized she wouldn't be the one getting new things, rather it would be her new little brother they were shopping for. Ella had been hoping for another little sister; Mark was thrilled that he was finally getting a son.<p>

Ella pulled her jacket on as there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," she screamed, opening the door before Lexie could reach it. "Hi, Arizona. Lexie, it's Arizona and Sofia," she told Lexie who was now standing behind her.

"I see that. What's up?" asked Lexie as she welcomed the two into the apartment.

Arizona set Sofia on the floor and watched as she and Ella ran towards their room to play. "I know you were planning on going shopping for the baby with Ella today. Would you be able to take Sofia? I have a patient whose been waiting for a transplant and they just found a match. I can drop Sofia off at daycare if you can't, but I thought Ella would like to spend the day with her."

"It's fine. I was just thinking about going to Target and maybe getting lunch. Sof is pretty good for me. I just need to borrow a car seat for her. Mark drove to work this morning and it's in his car."

* * *

><p>An hour and a half later, Sofia was sitting in the seat of the red cart and Ella kept picking up every item of clothing she saw, asking if they could get it for the baby. Ella wasn't really paying attention to whether or not the clothes were for a boy or girl, just whether or not she liked them. Eventually, Lexie decided they were done shopping when the cart was full of clothes, toys, and other items Ella convinced Lexie they 'needed' for the baby.<p>

As they were loading their purchases into the back of Lexie's car, Ella asked, "Can we go out to eat for lunch? I heard you tell Arizona we might. Can we, please?"

"Since you were pretty good while we were shopping, I guess that would be okay. When we get home, though, you have to help me carry everything in from the car and we can't be really loud cuz Sofia's gonna need to take a nap. We can read or play a board game or something. Sound good?" Lexie offered after pondering Ella's question for a moment. "Where do you want to go?"

"Um, IHOP? I really like their pancakes. Mommy makes good ones, but theirs are better."

* * *

><p>After their breakfast for lunch and a quiet afternoon in the apartment, Mark walked through the door to find Lexie, Ella, and Sofia all on the floor, playing with some dolls the girls kept at their father's apartment. "Did you buy lots of stuff for Mark, Jr.?" He asked after setting down his bag and kissing each of the women in his life.<p>

"We're not naming the baby Mark, Jr.," insisted Lexie before Ella began to tell her father about the day.

"We got lots of stuff for him and then we went out to eat. We had pancakes for lunch, Daddy. Then we came home and Sofia took a nap and me and Lexie did a puzzle and read my book I just got. After Sofia woke up, we decided to play dolls," the six-year-old explained energetically.

Sitting on the couch, he pulled his one-year-old daughter into his lap. "I'm surprised to see you here today. Did you drive your momma so crazy she couldn't take it anymore?" he asked, more for Lexie to answer than the child.

"Didn't you run into Arizona at the hospital at all? She had a patient who they finally found a transplant for, so I said I could take Sofia for the day. It's been awhile since I had both girls, so it was kinda nice to have both of them by myself. Not sure I'll be doing any outings with them once our baby is born, but I love having both of them around."


	13. Chapter 13

Alex was now spending the evening with Addison more and more, often when Ella was there. It wasn't uncommon for Alex to be the first one to the apartment after work or to pick Ella up from Mark and Lexie. The nights spent with Addison and Ella frequently resulted in Alex sleeping on the couch simply because he was too exhausted from working all day and talking all night to drive back to Meredith's house.

By now, Addison was eighteen weeks and her bump was growing every day. After getting Ella to bed after spending the evening debating what her Halloween costume would or would not be, Addison settled into the couch. As Alex took her feet and began to rub them, he spoke, "So, I was thinking about getting my own place. I heard there's a two bedroom apartment upstairs that's going to be available soon. It will be easier for me to be close once the baby comes. I can set up a room for the baby and even though I know I'm not Ella's dad or anything, I'd be glad to watch her from time to time."

She pulled her feet from Alex's hands and sat up straight. "Alex, stop. You're not moving into Mark and Lexie's apartment. I know you want to, but I think it's stupid for you to move in there."

"You don't want me to take care of the baby in my room in Meredith's house, but you don't want me to get my own place. Zola's almost two, I can't keep living there. I need to live somewhere else. Where to expect me to live since you don't want me upstairs?" Alex was clearly getting upset with Addison.

"Here. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, Alex. Aside from those two weeks when I said I didn't want Ella to get hurt by us, we have been together almost all the time since I moved back here. It's crazy for you to pay rent for an apartment you're hardly ever in. You know that after this baby comes, you'd always be here, anyway."

Alex pondered the suggestion for a minute before responding. "Won't us living together just complicate everything even more? Our relationship is already weird; we're having a baby together, but we're not together. I don't know what we are to each other, but I know what I'd like us to be."

"What do you want us to be? Cuz I think I might want us to be the same thing you do, but I need you to say it first," prompted Addison.

Alex scooted closer to Addison on the couch and wrapped his arms around her. "I want there to be an us. I want to wake up next to you every day and tell you to go back to sleep when the baby cries in the middle of the night. Spending almost every night on your couch has made me realize how I'd do pretty much anything for you, including sleeping on an uncomfortable couch and loving a kid that isn't mine."

By now, Addison was looking Alex in the eye, trying to tell if he was being serious or just trying to get her into bed again. "I think I want the same thing as you. Move out of your room and into mine. I'll explain it to Ella tomorrow cuz I'm sure she'll ask after coming into the room in the morning and seeing you in bed with me."

* * *

><p>As predicted by Addison, Ella entered Addison room early the next morning and found Alex with his arms wrapped around her mother. Crawling up on the bed, she repeatedly jabbed Alex in the shoulder until her turned to face her. "Alex, why aren't you sleeping on the couch? You never sleep in Mommy's bed."<p>

Alex moving away from Addison caused her to awaken and prop herself up on the pillows. "Addie, you wanna explain this to her?" questioned Alex as he lifted Ella to sit on the bed between himself and Addison.

"Sweetie, Alex is moving. He's not going to live with Uncle Derek and Meredith anymore. He's going to live with us," started Addison.

Looking between the two adults, Ella asked, "If he's going to live in the empty room, where is the baby going to live?"

"The baby is still going to live in the empty room. Alex is going to share my room with me. You know how Daddy and Lexie share a room?" Ella nodded. "Alex and I are going to live together like they do."

"But they love each other and want to live together forever. Do you want to live with him forever, Mommy? He's a boy," Ella said with a tone of disgust in her voice.

Laughing, Addison said, "I know you think boys are gross right now, but you probably won't always feel that way. But, yes, I want to live with Alex forever. Now if you ask him nicely, I bet you can get Alex to make you some breakfast before he has to go to work."


	14. Chapter 14

It was another two weeks after deciding that Alex should move in with Addison and Ella that he finally cleared everything out of his room in Meredith and Derek's house. Ella loved having Alex around all of the time. When Mark heard that Alex was moving in, he once again reminded Alex that if he screwed up and hurt Addison or Ella, he would hurt him. Everyone at the hospital congratulated them for deciding to stop tiptoeing around what has been obvious between them for years.

On the day of Addison's twenty-week ultrasound, Alex found Addison by the coffee cart with Callie. Walking up to the women, Addison greeted him, "You left early. I missed you this morning."

"Sorry about that. I got paged and you looked so comfortable, I didn't want to wake you. I was thinking about your ultrasound this afternoon."

"What about it?" she asked, assuming he was nervous about it.

"I'm supposed to get off at noon and it's not until four. Would it be okay if I called the nanny and told her I was picking Ella up today and then bring Ella to the ultrasound? She would be there to find out if she's having a little brother or sister. I know you always have parents bring older siblings to this ultrasound. Besides, she loves visiting everyone here and it's been awhile since she's come."

Picking up her blueberry muffin and decaf vanilla latte, Addison answered Alex, "I guess that would be okay. She asked me this morning if it was a boy or a girl; I told her we'd tell her tonight. She'll think it's really special that she gets to be there when we find out. I'll call her nanny, though. Mark doesn't really like when you talk to her, he's still really protective of me and Ella and doesn't want you to do something to piss her off and make her quit."

* * *

><p>Six hours later, Alex returned to the hospital with Ella in tow. "Can I visit Daddy first?" the six-year-old asked as she skipped down the hallway.<p>

"We have to meet your mom upstairs in five minutes. How about we visit him after Mommy's appointment," suggested Alex.

Ella very excitedly and repeatedly pressed the elevator button. The normally calm and quiet child was bubbling over with excitement, both from being at the hospital and from the prospect of finding out whether she'd be getting a little sister or brother.

Addison was waiting for Alex and Ella outside the OB-GYN's office. Addison still wasn't used to being the patient instead of the doctor. As soon as she saw them step off the elevator, she slowly opened the door. By the time she was entering the office, Alex was by her side.

Knowing that both Addison and Alex were doctors and would easily be able to read the ultrasound, the doctor turned the screen away from them until after she had determined what gender the baby was. "You'll be glad to know that it's just one baby in there. Do you want me to tell you whether it's a boy or a girl or do you want to see for yourselves?"

Alex squeezed Addison's hand as she looked at him before answering, "I think we want to see it first?"

The doctor froze the image so Addison could move to get a better look at her baby. "Ella, do you want a little brother or sister more?" Alex asked.

"I'm already getting a little brother from Daddy and Lexie, so can I have a sister?"

"You wanna tell her what it is, Addie?"

"It looks like you're getting another little sister! It's a girl!" exclaimed Addison, eliciting squeals of delight from her daughter.

"I'll print the picture for you and you're good to go," the doctor said as Addison wiped the ultrasound gel from her stomach.

* * *

><p>Leaving the office, Alex mentioned to Addison that Ella wanted to see Mark. It was now Wednesday and Mark ended being in an emergency surgery Monday night, so Ella hadn't seen him since Sunday morning. They found him at the third floor nurses' station, harassing some intern into getting him some coffee.<p>

"Daddy! I missed you, why couldn't I come over on Monday?" Ella asked as she ran toward him, wrapping her arms around his legs.

"I missed you, too. There was a really bad accident and I had to help the people get better. I'm off tomorrow, so I'm picking you up from school. Lexie's working tomorrow night, so it's just me and you. Start thinking about what you want to do, okay?"

"I can do that. Guess what Daddy?"

"I don't know, what?" by now Mark had lifted Ella to be sitting on the counter and was looking her in the eye.

"I just saw the baby. It's a girl! Now I'm gonna have two little sisters, a little brother, and a big sister. That's a lot of brothers and sisters."

"That sure is a lot of brothers and sisters. Lexie and I picked a name for your little brother. His name is Bradyn Elijah. Do you like that name?"

"Yeah. There's a boy at school whose name is Elijah. He's okay, but I wouldn't really call him my friend," explained Ella.

"I'm sure your little brother will be your friend once he gets older, right? Someone's gotta show him how to climb the monkey bars and play in the dirt. I think you're the perfect person to do that," Mark said as his pager went off. "I've gotta go save someone. You be good for Mommy and Alex. I'll meet you in front of school tomorrow."


	15. Chapter 15

Another month passed and Addison kept pestering Alex to pick a name for the baby. She had picked Ella's name on her own, mainly because she wasn't interested in having Mark be a part of the baby's life when she found out it was a girl and she had always loved the name Ella. Much to Addison's surprise, Alex returned from a trip to the store and pulled a book of baby names out of one of the bags he set on the counter.

"You win. We can pick a name," surrendered Alex as he handed her the book. "Where's Ella?"

"She's upstairs with Callie and Arizona. She kept asking when she could play with Sofia, so they agreed to have her over for a little while before bed. Have you given any thought to what you do or don't want to name the baby?"

"I was thinking we should name her something that starts with E."

"Why? So we can be one of those freaky families where all the kids' names start with the same letter?" questioned Addison as she raised her eyebrow, trying to tell if he was being serious or not.

"Well, your brother's name is Archer and my brother and sister are Aaron and Amber. Our families tended to think alike when it came to names. I just thought it'd be nice to keep that going with our babies," Alex wondered if she would catch that he implied he wanted more babies with her.

"I never realized that before. Then again, neither of us are very close to our siblings. So names that start with E for a girl," Addison flipped through the book to find names that would fit their criteria. "Wait, babies? You want to have more kids?"

Alex smirked, "I love you Addison and I love Ella. I want to have as many kids with you as you want. I mean, we could adopt them too. There are way too many kids out there that need a loving family."

Addison and Alex spent another hour looking at the baby name book, trying to find one that would be perfect for their little girl. Finally, Alex stopped flipping pages in the book. "What about Emma?"

"I like it, but I feel like I have parents naming their daughter Emma every other day. I don't want her to be one of five Emma's in kindergarten. Evelyn is a pretty name."

"I think we have a winner. Now, is Evelyn going to have a middle name?"

"I've always liked Grace as a middle name. I think Evelyn Grace Montgomery-Karev is a beautiful name for what I know is going to be a beautiful baby."

After determining what their daughter's name would be, Alex sent Arizona a text, asking if they could keep Ella for another hour or so. "Evelyn is going to be beautiful because you're her mother and you're beautiful. Now, I'd like to show you just how beautiful you are and how much I love you. Arizona and Callie are going to watch Ella for about another hour," explained Alex as he kissed his girlfriend.

* * *

><p>"Alex, I'm twenty-six weeks pregnant," stated Addison as she poured herself a glass of juice and sat at the table. It was a Tuesday morning, so Ella was with Mark and Lexie.<p>

Alex couldn't help but laugh at Addison's matter-of-fact statement. "I'm very well aware of how many weeks pregnant you are. I'm also aware that it's a week until Christmas and everything Ella wants."

"Do you know what I want for Christmas?"

He kissed her, "I don't know if it's on your list, but I know what I'm planning on giving you. Where are you really going with this? You first remind me how many weeks along you are, then ask me about Christmas?"

Addison smirked, "I don't know. I've just been thinking about how lucky I am to have you and to be having this baby with you. I really love you Alex, you know that, right?"

Reassuring her, he replied, "Yes, I know that. I'm sure you won't be saying that when you're in labor. I never loved Izzie the same way I love you. It's so easy to be with you. I don't want you to ever forget or doubt how much I love you. One of the things I love about you is that you believed I would be a good doctor and that you are giving me a chance to be a great father to Ella and Evelyn," Alex glanced at his watch, "Ooh, we gotta go. I have rounds in ten minutes."


	16. Chapter 16

When Ella was in Los Angeles with Addison, Mark would spend Christmas with them there. He wasn't able to make the trip for the previous year's holiday because he, and Callie, wanted him to be in Seattle for Sophia's first Christmas. Addison and Ella flew up to Seattle Christmas afternoon, after Ella opened presents from Addison and their LA family.

Addison was in agreement with Callie and Arizona that both girls should spend Christmas Eve at Mark's apartment. When the girls woke up, anxious to open their presents, the others would come over and they would celebrate the holiday in their daughters' shared home.

Addison and Alex were enjoying the quiet of a Christmas Eve without an excited six-year-old. "I know we're doing presents and everything at Sloan's place in the morning, but I wanted to give you this tonight." Alex reached behind the couch and pulled out a small box, handing it to Addison.

Accepting the box, Addison said, "I thought we agreed to not get each other anything, that all we wanted was to be with each other and we got that since Ella's with Mark."

"Just open it. I know I didn't have to get you anything, but I wanted to."

Slowly, Addison pulled the bow off, sticking it on Alex's shirt, and proceeded to untie the ribbon. Taking in the exquisite wrapping job, Addison was sure that Alex was not the one who had wrapped this gift. When she finally got the paper off, Addison found a small, unmarked, white box.

"You have to open the lid," Alex sounded like a little kid, excited to see what was in the box.

Addison pulled the lid off and found the box filled with tissue paper. She carefully removed each crunched up piece of paper until she found an even smaller box within the first, except this one was a dark blue velvet jewelry box. Before she could open the second box, Alex took it from her, opening it to reveal a simple emerald ring.

"I know we've only really been together for a few months, but we've talked about having a future together. I would love to marry you someday, but this isn't an engagement ring, unless you want it to be. This is a promise ring, promising that we will always be together. Addison, do you promise me that we will always be together?"

By now, Addison was tearing up as she said, "Yes, Alex, I promise that we will always be together. And I'd like this ring even more if it were an engagement ring." Somehow, Alex giving Addison a ring had led to Addison sort of proposing to Alex.

Alex slipped the ring onto her left hand as he kissed her, "I'd love for it to be an engagement ring, too."

Pulling away from Alex's lips, Addison whispered, "We're engaged. I think Evelyn likes that we're engaged, she's going crazy in there." Addison placed Alex's hand on her stomach where their daughter had been practicing for the soccer team.

* * *

><p>Arizona and Callie were just walking up to Mark and Lexie's door when Addison and Alex turned the corner, smiling and holding hands. "You two seem awfully happy this morning. I take it you enjoyed your night without Ella?" Callie said as Arizona knocked before opening the door.<p>

"You could say that," Addison said before entering the apartment. Seeing Ella on the floor near the tree, Addison walked over and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Merry Christmas, sweetie."

Several hours later, Ella and Sophia had opened all of their presents and were playing with them on the floor while the adults sat with their partners on the couches. Sophia was confused as to what she was supposed to do with the wrapped boxes being placed in front of her until Ella showed her she needed to tear the paper and there was frequently toys in the boxes. "Ella is such a good big sister," Lexie said after watching the older girl show her younger sister how one of her new toys worked. "I hope she's that good with Bradyn." Hearing that the adults were talking about her, Ella put down her new doll and squeezed onto the couch between her father and Lexie.

"I'll be a really good sister to Bray. You know why?" Ella asked.

"Why's that, Ella-Bella?" Mark asked, pulling the girl into a hug.

"'Cuz I'm already a great big sister to Sophia and I'll know how to be an even better one to Bray." Sophia's limited vocabulary resulted in everyone having one syllable names, and she started calling the baby Bray; Ella heard it and thought it sounded cute and started calling him by it as well.

Alex couldn't help but share his thoughts on the conversation. "Since you're going to be an even greater big sister to Bradyn, does that mean you're going to be amazing with Evelyn?"

Ella scooted off the couch where she had been sitting and moved to sit on Alex's lap on the other couch. "Yep, I'm going to be an amazing big sister by the time Evelyn comes."

Addison rubbed her hand on her daughter's leg. "That you are."

"Is that a new ring, Mommy? I've never seen it before," Ella lifted Addison's hand to look at her ring.

"Yes it is. Alex gave it to me last night for Christmas. When he gave it to me, we decided to get married," Addison shared with the six-year-old, as well as everyone else in the room.

In the midst of everyone talking at once about the engagement, Sophia looked up from the pile of toys in front of her, clearly looking to see why everyone was suddenly much louder than they had been just a few minutes before. "Ella," she held up a toy to her older sister.

"I'm gonna go back to playing," Ella said as she took the toy and sat next to the one-year-old.


	17. Chapter 17

Three weeks after Christmas, Lexie went into labor at just over thirty-six weeks. After fifteen hours in labor, baby Bradyn Elijah Grey-Sloan was born at 2:17pm, weighing six pounds, two ounces and seventeen inches long. Lexie went into labor late in the evening, Mark called Addison to let her know that they were heading to the hospital. Addison had one of the other OB attendings sending her regular updates on Lexie's progress.

Everyone agreed that since Ella was most likely going to not be in school when Addison was in labor with Evelyn, they wouldn't tell her that Bradyn was on his way until after he was born. Ella immediately knew something was going on when Alex picked her up from school that day instead of Mark or Lexie since it was Thursday and she was looking forward to spending the night with her father.

Alex met Ella outside of school in the spot where she always met whoever was picking her up that day. "Hi, Alex," she said as she gave him a hug. "Why isn't my Daddy or Lexie picking me up? I'm supposed to go by them tonight."

"Your dad and Lexie got stuck at the hospital, so they asked me to pick you up for them since I don't work until tonight. You're going to the hospital with me and we'll hang out there until your dad and Lexie are ready," Alex had already gotten a text saying that the baby had been born and was healthy, but to not bring Ella up until he heard from them. "How does a nice, big dish of ice cream sound when we get there?"

The mention of ice cream immediately caused Ella to forget that she was somewhat upset with the fact that her father wasn't picking her up like he had promised when she talked to him the night before. "Can I get chocolate with sprinkles?"

"You can get anything you want. You just can't get it on your uniform. Your mom won't be happy with either of us if you get really messy," Alex took her backpack from her and got her settled in her booster seat before heading to the hospital.

* * *

><p>Upon their arrival at the hospital, Alex took Ella to the cafeteria and texted both Addison and Mark that they were in the building. Knowing how long it would take Ella to eat a dish of ice cream, Mark replied that he could bring her to Lexie's room when she finished.<p>

Addison decided to meet them in the cafeteria. "Is Daddy and Lexie done? I want to go home, I don't like being at the hospital, it's boring here," Ella said as her mother sat in the chair next to her.

"They're done, but you can't go home quite yet. Finish your ice cream and you can see the surprise they have waiting for you upstairs. I'm pretty sure you're going to like it."

Hearing there was a surprise waiting for her, Ella decided she was done with her snack after only a few bites. "I'm done. Can I go see Daddy and Lexie now? I wanna see my surprise."

Addison took her daughter's hand and led her to Lexie's room upstairs. Opening the door, Ella saw her almost-stepmother laying in bed, holding an infant wrapped in a standard hospital blanket in her arms. Ella ran to the bed and Mark lifted her into his arms. "Hi sweetie, this is your little brother, Bradyn. He is the reason why I couldn't pick you up from school today."

"Can I hold him? I've been practicing with my dolls, I'm really good at it."

"Make her sit on the couch first, Mark. Be sure she supports his head," Lexie was clearly nervous about a six-year-old holding the baby who wasn't even two hours old.

Alex and Addison stood near the door, watching as Ella met her brother for the first time. Alex stood behind Addison, with his hands resting on her stomach, feeling their daughter move. "I can't believe our little girl should be here in about two months," whispered Alex, not wanting to take any attention away from the new family.

"I think they'll be here for a while. Let's go get dinner before you start," Addison said as she backed the two of them out of the room. "Ella will be fine and I'll get her when I get off. Pretty sure she'll be with us for the next week or so while Mark and Lexie get used to having a newborn in the house."

* * *

><p>Their dinner consisted of hospital food since Addison was still working and Alex only had half an hour before he started. Arizona was pleased that Alex had accepted the peds fellowship and was constantly increasing his responsibilities. He was currently in charge of the peds department while Arizona took a long weekend with Callie and Sofia.<p>

After sitting down with their trays of food, Addison couldn't help but smile between bites. "What are you smiling at?" Alex asked, her smiling was starting to make him paranoid that she knew something he didn't.

"Just everything. I had a really good day today and I have someone to share it with whose old enough to understand how happy I get seeing someone completely in love with their new baby."

Alex scooted his chair closer to Addison and took her hand in his. "I'm happy that you're happy and I can't wait to see you completely in love with our baby. Can I admit something?"

"I swear if you're about to tell me you have a kid out there," started Addison before Alex interrupted her.

"Again, I'm not aware of any kids that I might have one besides the one growing inside of you. I see how great of a kid Ella is and I know that you mostly raised her on your own and I'm terrified that I'm somehow going to screw up with Evelyn, especially with how I grew up."

Addison kissed his cheek. "You're going to be a great father to Evelyn. You already are with Ella. She loves when you're with her. She loves that you love taking her to the park and that you play dolls with her and that you let her stay up late when I'm working late. You're definitely not the same guy I met six years ago when I first came to Seattle to get Derek back."

"You actually thought Derek would take you back while you were pregnant with his best friend's child? I always thought you just came out here to see that the rumors about him and Meredith were true before signing the divorce papers," Alex never knew Addison had tried to get back with Derek.

"You're missing the point, Alex. You're a hundred times the father yours ever was and our daughter isn't even here yet. I see you with Ella and the kids up on peds and you're amazing. What you're thinking right now is the same thing every other guy who is about to become a father thinks."


	18. Chapter 18

"Ella, it's time to get up," Addison said as she rubbed her daughter's back early Saturday morning three weeks after Bradyn was born.

"Can't I sleep in? You said last night I can sleep in," grumbled Ella, refusing to wake from her slumber.

Sighing, Addison knew this wouldn't be easy. "You can stay in your pajamas, but you need to go by Daddy and Lexie's. I have to go to work and Alex isn't home yet. You can go back to sleep as soon as you get upstairs. Don't you want to see your brother? I'm sure he misses you."

Ella rolled over and stretched her arms over her head. "Can you carry me upstairs?"

"I can't carry you, sweetie. You're too big for me to carry since I'm pregnant. Get your butt out of bed and I'll call Daddy and see if he can come down for you."

Addison had about twenty minutes until she needed to leave without risking being late for work. She didn't want to call Mark about coming down for his daughter, mainly because she didn't want to risk waking Bradyn, but she did and Mark agreed to pick up his daughter.

As Mark was waiting for the elevator with the almost seven-year-old in his arms, Ella asked, "Am I spending all day with you, or just until Alex comes home."

"I'm not sure, kiddo. Alex is probably gonna want to take a nap when he gets home, so you're gonna hang out with us for at least the morning. You're gonna have to sleep on the couch. Sofia slept over last night and she's in your bed since I put Bradyn before coming to get you."

* * *

><p>Five hours later, Alex was knocking at Mark and Lexie's door. He got home from work a little while after Mark took Ella, but he decided to let her enjoy some time with her dad's family while he got a few hours of sleep before taking the girl back. He had promised her the day before that they would go shopping since Ella wanted to get something special for her little sister. She would then go back to Mark and Lexie's to spend the night.<p>

Entering the apartment, Alex was greeted by a frazzled looking Lexie. "I can't wait until your kid is born so you know what this is like, having a newborn and a rambunctious six-year-old. She's been up and running around for a few hours, Mark just left to get some more diapers for both Bradyn and Sofia."

"I thought Bray was a really good baby, you know sleeps when he should and isn't too demanding. I feel like Evelyn is gonna be like Addison and Ella, demanding and definitely a Montgomery."

"Is Ella still spending the night tonight? I'll have Mark move the bassinet into our room for him so Ella isn't stuck on the couch again."

"That's the plan as far as I know. Ella wanted to get a present for Evelyn, so we're going shopping this afternoon. Addison's working late tonight, so I can pick up dinner for you and Mark before I drop Ella off for the night," offered Alex.

"Dinner would be wonderful. I'll talk to Mark and let you know what we decide."

At that moment, Ella realized Alex was there and came running over. "Hi, Alex! I have to get dressed and then we can go shopping still, right?"

"Yep, let's get you dressed and then we're shopping. Do you know what you want to get Evelyn?"

* * *

><p>As Alex was pulling into a parking spot at the mall, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Climbing out, he opened the door for Ella as he looked at his phone and saw it was Addison. "It's your mom, kiddo," he told Ella as she unbuckled herself.<p>

"Hi, Addie. What's up?"

"I need you to come to the hospital right away. Something's wrong, I'm in labor and it's too early and I'm really scared, Alex. Please hurry," pleaded Addison.

"We just got out of the car at the mall. Ella wanted to get something for Evey. Should I drop her back off by Mark or bring her with me?" Alex asked into the phone. "Ella, I know I promised we'd go shopping, but I have to go to the hospital. Evelyn might be born today," Alex said as he listened to Addison's response.

* * *

><p>Alex sped through the streets of downtown Seattle, the whole time being very thankful that is was a Saturday in February and there wasn't much traffic. "Is Mommy and Evelyn okay? She isn't supposed to be born until right before my birthday."<p>

"I don't know. That's why we're going to the hospital to find out what's going on. We're going to go see your mom and I'm going to talk to a few people and find someone to take you over to your dad's so you're not stuck here all day. Promise you'll be extra good, your mom's scared about Evelyn possibly coming today."

"I can do that, Alex. I'll show Mommy that I'm a big girl and that I'm a really good big sister," replied Ella as Alex carried her through the front doors of the hospital. He was in a hurry and carrying her was faster than letting her walk.


	19. Chapter 19

Entering Addison's room, Alex set Ella on the foot of the bed and rushed to Addison, kissing her on the forehead before asking, "What happened? You were fine when you came in this morning."

Twisting her face, she handed Ella the television remote before answering. "I was having contractions this morning, but they weren't very strong or consistent, so I figured they were Braxton-Hicks. I didn't have any surgeries scheduled for today, so I wasn't too worried since it was going to be an easy day. I was having lunch with Callie when I started to feel lightheaded. Next thing I knew, I was hooked up to monitors and being admitted. My blood pressure skyrocketed and that was putting Evelyn in distress, which is why I'd been having contractions." As Addison was explaining everything, Alex was reading it in her chart that he picked up from the tray table next to the bed. "My BP is still high, but not as high as it was and my contractions have been getting stronger and more consistent for the past hour or so. They're still ten minutes apart, though."

"Everything will work out. You're thirty-four weeks, still early, but it's not too early. Our main concern right now is her lungs and her size. Did they give steroids yet to help develop her lungs?"

"Yeah and they did an ultrasound just before you got here. She was always on the smaller side, it looks like she's right around four pounds. I called Mark after I talked to you. He said Callie would stop by to pick Ella up when she gets off in about an hour. I already asked Arizona to stay, I want her to check Evelyn as soon as she's born. I'm scared, Alex, I'm really scared," Addison was almost in tears.

* * *

><p>Addison's labor continued to progress and by 7:30, her room was bustling with activity. Fellow surgeons had been stopping by all day to offer to help with anything they needed, but now it was Addison's OB and several nurses in the room as they prepped for Addison to deliver her daughter.<p>

Trying to stay out of the way of the other doctors, Alex stood next to Addison's head and held her hand. "Everything will be fine. We've got the best doctors possible and they're going to do to make sure she's perfect," Alex tried to comfort Addison.

"Okay, Addison, I'm gonna need you to push with your next contraction," the doctor interrupted Alex.

Twenty minutes of pushing later, the doctor was passing a small baby girl to Arizona without giving Addison a chance to see or hold her daughter. "She's beautiful, perfect, too. She needs a little help breathing, but she's stable for now," Arizona told the new parents as she examined Evelyn Grace Montgomery-Karev. "She's 17 inches long and weighs exactly four pounds. Alex come meet your daughter"

Alex looked at Addison, as though he were asking for permission to leave her side. "Go see our daughter. I'll be fine for a few minutes."

Alex crossed the room the incubator the infant was lying in. "How long do you think she'll need to be on oxygen for?" All of his medical knowledge seemed to have been forgotten.

"It's really hard to say with a preemie born at thirty-four weeks, Alex. With preemies, we usually say they'll be in the NICU until right around their due date, but you know that every case is different. Her oxygen levels might pick up in a few hours and she'll be able to leave in a few days or she might need to stay a few weeks. I'm going to take her to the NICU now. Addison can come down in a wheelchair in a few hours once she's gotten a little sleep," Arizona began to push the incubator into the hallway.

The doctors finished cleaning Addison up and left her to sleep before meeting her daughter. Alex had taken a picture of her, which he sent to all of their friends, along with a request of no visitors until at least the next afternoon. He did talk to Ella for a few minutes, assuring her that both Addison and Evelyn were alright and that she could come the next day to see them.

* * *

><p>Addison awoke from her nap around midnight and immediately asked Alex to get her a wheelchair. She was told she could see her daughter as soon as she woke up and didn't want to wait any longer than she had to. While pushing her toward the NICU, Alex filled her in on their daughter's condition. "She's on oxygen right now and is in the incubator to help regulate her temp. They hadn't tried feeding her yet when I talked to Robbins a little while ago. I asked them to wait until you were there to do that. I'm scared out of my mind right now, but I know she has the best doctors in this place."<p>

After putting on the standard pink gowns, Alex rolled the chair to Evelyn's incubator and helped Addison to stand to get a better look at her. Almost instantly, tears started to well in Addison's eyes, "She looks so fragile, Alex. What if she doesn't make it?"

"You can't think that way, Adds. We both know everything that can happen to a baby in the NICU, but we need to keep thinking that she just needs a little extra oxygen and to put on some weight and that we'll be taking her home soon."

Arizona entered the room and walked towards the new parents, setting Evelyn's chart on the end of the incubator."Perfect timing, Addison. We were just going to try feeding her. She did okay with the pacifier earlier, so her swallow reflexes are working. After feeding her, you can do some skin to skin if you want to help her temp. It's a little low still, but it's been holding steady for the past two hours. We just need to get it up."


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, Mark brought Ella to the hospital to see Addison and meet her little sister. He showed her the pictures of Evelyn Alex had sent him the night before, but he still wasn't sure how she was going to react to seeing her. Granted she had just turned five when Sofia was born and had grown up a lot since then, everyone was still afraid she would react the same way. Because Sofia was so tiny, Ella wasn't allowed in the NICU to meet her, rather her incubator was placed in front of the window for her to see. Ella had been expecting to see a baby much bigger than what she did and broke down, sobbing, afraid her little sister was going to die. She had been around doctors enough to know that when someone's in the hospital and they're really sick, they might die.

Mark first took Ella to Addison's room and found her relaxing in bed, or at least attempting to relax, while Alex got some coffee. Ella climbed onto her mother's bed to give her a hug. "Is Evelyn okay, Mommy? I can't wait to see her and I promise I'm not going to cry like I did with Sofia."

"Evelyn is already better than she was last night. When I had her, she was having a little trouble breathing and she wasn't warm enough. She has a thing in her nose that's giving her a little extra air to make sure she's breathing okay and her temperature is where it should be. Arizona thinks she should be able to come home in about a week; we just need her to weigh a little more first," Addison explained to her daughter in a way that she would understand.

The hospital usually didn't allow six-year-olds in the NICU, but an exception was made for Ella, considering she would be with Addison, Alex, Mark, and Arizona. Alex led the girl across the room to the incubator that had a pink sign at the end of with Evelyn's name and the picture of a giraffe. He helped to stand on a chair next to it so she could put her hand through the opening and touch her sister's hand. "Hi, Evey. I'm Ella, I'm your big sister. You have two more big sisters, Sloan and Sofia. We don't see Sloan very much and Sofia lives with my daddy and Lexie. My daddy isn't your daddy, but I really like Alex and he's a great daddy to me. I know you're gonna be okay and come home soon because Sofia was in a box like this when she was born and she's really fun to play with now. You'll really like her. My daddy and Lexie just had a baby and his name is Bradyn. He's not your brother, but you'll probably play with him a lot."

Alex stood close to Ella since the chair she was standing on wasn't the most stable, but the other adults stood on the opposite side of the incubator, watching the interaction. "Do you mind if Ella stays with you and Lexie this week, at least until I get released?" Addison asked Mark, who was standing behind her, thinking of how much progress Sofia has made since she was in the NICU.

"Huh? Yeah, that's fine. I'm still off this week and Lexie has a few more weeks before coming back. I'm sure she won't mind having Ella over," Mark glanced at his watch. "I told Lexie I wouldn't be gone long. She wanted to run to the store without Bray, so we have to time it between feedings. Do you want me to take Ella or is she fine here for a few hours?"

Hearing the question that was asked, Ella answered for Addison and Alex. "I want to stay here. I like watching Evey."

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><p>Addison was cleared to go home the next night and Evelyn was discharged after ten days in the NICU. By the time Evelyn was two months old, Ella was off from school for spring break. Due to Evelyn arriving early, Addison was taking twelve weeks of maternity leave and Alex went back to work a month after she came home. Alex was off the Friday before Easter and Ella had only been off from school for one day and was already driving Addison crazy.<p>

Alex finally got Evey to fall asleep after Addison fed her at lunchtime and wanted to give Addison a little break, maybe to take a much-needed nap. "Hey, Ella. What do you say to a trip to the park? We can take the baseball glove you got for your birthday; we haven't really played since things have been kind of crazy around here."

"I'll go get it!" exclaimed Ella as she ran toward her room to get the baseball glove he gave her a few weeks earlier. Minutes later, Alex was helping her to zip her sweatshirt before leading her out the door of the apartment.

Addison sat on the couch and propped her feet up on the coffee table, smiling to herself as she realized that Callie really had been right about Alex all those years earlier. He really was the guy who would settle down and play catch with his kids and she couldn't wait to see him with her girls as they grew up.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: That's the end of this story. I really appreciate all the reviews I got on it, they made writing so much easier, knowing people were looking forward to the next chapter. I've started another story called "Dear Sofia," The style of it is different from anything I've written before, but I hope you all check it out.<strong>


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